Supreme Court raps cops for summoning witnesses to police station

Supreme Court today came down heavily on Delhi Police after being told that despite its order, cops have been summoning persons who had witnessed the alleged manhandling of a woman lawyer inside a police station.

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Supreme Court today came down heavily on Delhi Police after being told that despite its order, cops have been summoning persons who had witnessed the alleged manhandling of a woman lawyer inside a police station.

"If they are doing it, then we will take a very serious note of it," said a bench of justices TS Thakur and AK Sikri.

The court had yesterday asked Lajpat Nagar police station to "keep off" and not summon witnesses in the assault case.

The counsel for Delhi Police has said that the probe in the case has been transferred to the crime branch.

"Now, Lajpat Nagar police has no role. You (police) appreciate the fact that here a woman lawyer is involved," the bench said.

The court's observation came after an advocate mentioned the case again saying that despite yesterday's order, witnesses are being summoned to the police station.

Earlier, the bench had asked the Delhi Police Commissioner to provide security to the woman lawyer who was allegedly manhandled by some cops and others inside Lajpat Nagar police station here on April 4 when she had gone there to serve a court order related to a property in which a person named Himmat Rai Malhotra is involved.

The court had also asked the Joint Commissioner of Police to file an affidavit after considering all the aspects of the matter.

Earlier, a four-judge bench headed by Chief Justice RM Lodha had taken suo motu cognisance of the letter of the woman lawyer alleging manhandling inside the police station.

Senior advocate Vijay Hansaria, who has been appointed amicus curiae in the matter, recently filed a fresh plea seeking a CBI probe into the case on the grounds that the witnesses were being "harassed" by cops.